Gene Simmons Owns Up to ‘Checkered Past’

Gene Simmons spoke about his “checkered past” but argued he was a “good guy” in the aftermath of sexual misconduct charges that were laid against him.

The Kiss star made his comments two months after reports said he’d settled a lawsuit over an alleged incident at a media event.

“Oh, I’m sure some of it’s been out of line, but I’m a good guy,” Simmons said during a recent interview on Australian TV. “I sleep well at night. I have a wonderful family and kids. And it is true that people can say all kinds of things, but I happen to be a good guy. The unfortunate thing is there used to be something called presumption of innocence, that the courts would handle something. And now, the internet and stuff … ”

You can watch the interview below.

“My past is checkered, like most people’s is, and let those who are without sin cast the first stone," he continued. "You’re in a band, and the arrogance and cocksmanship, if you will, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and even later on – you can come on and just be brazen and just sort of inappropriate and you go, ‘That’s right. You’re in a band.’”

Simmons said he’d never have been able to get away with some of his exploits if he’d been “a dentist or a politician or a plumber,” and went on to say that men were in need of the support of women, whom he called “the highest form of life on Earth.” “If it wasn’t for my mother and [wife] Shannon, and especially Sophie, my daughter," he added. "She holds my feet to the fire, and rightfully so.”

Speaking when the lawsuit was reported to have been settled, Simmons said, “For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way.” His son, Nick Simmons, had previously described him as an “egomaniac,” and a “philanderer” but also a “consent addict” who he felt was unlikely to have been guilty of the accusations.